Subic revs up for summer

On land or in the sea, Subic Bay has it this summer.

This was how the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) painted the coming months as it gears up the sporting and tourist facilties here in preparation for the summer season.

“Subic is known for its unique blend of business and leisure. But this summer, we’ll be outdoing ourselves,” Marcelo said. “Tourists can forego some of the usual activities at the beach and forest trails so they can enjoy the more exciting sports activities,” he added.

According to Marcelo, watching is good, but joining the sports events 'is way better.'

Among the top sporting events scheduled this summer are the Tour of Luzon Street 6 and the Terry Larrazabal Bike Festival; the First Subic Experience Travel Card National Badminton Open; and the 2010 edition of the true-blue Filipino bike “Padyak Pinoy” bike competition.

Other activities include the Beach Football Tournament organized by the Beach Football Association of the Philippines (BFAP); 2010 SBMA Jet Ski Cup Series and a sport fishing tournament at the newly constructed container terminal.

Subic is now among the favorite venues of sports organizers for local and international events like the Asian Duathlon Championships, Subic Adventure Race, Taekwondo Open Championships, Bike Festival Asia, and Smart Communications’ Subic International Marathon.

“If you want peace and quiet, you can find that in Subic still. But if you want action and adrenaline-pumping events, then Subic is also the place for you this summer season,” he added. (30)

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Balloons lift up the spirit at the 15th Hot Air Balloon Festival

Clark, Pampanga --- I wish Subic Bay can do something almost like this. Wish!

Waking up at 3AM to travel one hour away isn't something I look forward to everyday. But the 15th Hot Air Balloon festival at Clark is worth every waking moment.

Here's a pic to prove my point.

Sunny Boy and Pong Pagong took center stage. Both raked in the ohhhs and the ahhhs from the thousands of attendees. See video at the right side of the blog ---->

How grand was the 15th hot air balloon festival? The only measure is to count the crowd. But because we got stuck in a VERY long line, let's just say there are at least 1,000 cars parked at around 6am. Our Totoya Corolla was packed with four adults and one 3 year old child. Do the math.

The crowd kept pouring in until we decided that the Sunny Boy wasn't worth the searing heat of the original one. That's around 10:15 AM.

Like I said, if only Subic Bay can do anything close to this, it would be wonderful. Here are some more pics that tell the story better than I could.

As a last note, I will be back there next year...promise. Thanks to David Bayarong of www.subictimes com for sharing the photos with the Subic Review.

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Posted in: Clark,tourism event